UNICEF regional director Marie-Pierre Poirier said that Croatia served as an example to other countries in the region and beyond in many areas of children's rights. Support for foster families, a highly developed system of social care and a successful model of prevention of peer violence are only some of the practical experiences and local expertise Croatia can be proud of, said Poirier.
She expressed concern about the negative impact of the long-lasting economic crisis on children in many EU countries, including Croatia.
Social Policy and Youth Minister Milanka Opacic said that the partnership with UNICEF was crucial in efforts to protect the most vulnerable groups of children, their parents and foster parents. Croatia will continue to count on UNICEF's support, notably in light of the recently adopted National Strategy for Children's Rights for the 2014-2020 period, Opacic said.
Deputy Justice Minister Sandra Artukovic Kunst spoke about the protection of children-witnesses in court proceedings, warning that those children were exceptionally vulnerable and that a judicial system that was not adapted to their needs could additionally traumatise such children.
In the last four years almost 1,500 children who were victims or witnesses to crimes were questioned without appropriate measures of protection, but the situation is changing because eight courts have been equipped to make children safe and comfortable, said Artukovic Kunst.
A society is not democratic if education is not available to all children from all groups and all areas, Deputy Science, Education and Sport Minister Roko Andricevic said, adding that in cooperation with UNICEF the ministry had carried out a number of campaigns in pre-school institutions and primary and secondary schools to teach tolerance and empathy to children.
Health Minister Sinisa Varga recalled that of the 31 maternity hospitals in Croatia, 30 had the status of hospitals-friends of children. He announced that the Croatian Health Insurance Fund could soon start covering the cost of maternity courses.
The head of UNICEF's office in Croatia, Valentina Otmacic, expressed satisfaction with achievements in the last two years, noting that they were owing to cooperation between the government, the academic community and civil society.
The conference also heard about the latest UNICEF report on the impact of the recession on children in affluent countries of the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The report, covering 41 countries, shows that between 2008 and 2014 around 2.6 million children in the world's most affluent countries had sunk below the poverty line, which has raised the number of children living in poverty in wealthy countries to 76.5 million.
Poverty has increased in 23 countries, mostly in Ireland, Greece, Latvia, Croatia and Iceland, while the number of children who live in families with incomes below the poverty line has fallen in 18 countries, most markedly in Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Norway and Finland, show the report.